Digital Transformation Strategies
The Global Business Council’s annual Digital Transformations conference featured keynote presentations from some of the most popular business speakers in the digital transformation space. Many of these speakers brought powerful ideas to the table that will be incredibly influential for the rest of us. These are some of my favorites from this year. I hope you also consider sharing them with your peers.
Summary: The digital transformation keynote featured several keynotes from industry leaders who were able to discuss many different topics related to the transformation. Authors discussed the importance of security, risk management, platform and the future of networks. Representatives from various cloud data centers discussed the importance of security and the role Cloud data centers play in the global business infrastructure. Mobile device and software applications vendors discussed their challenges and solutions to those challenges. A final speaker brought a new topic to the table in the digital transformation area – corporatization and how it affects risk management.
Security: Digital transformation strategy and the business capabilities needed to implement it must include a robust security component. Smartphones and devices that send mobile push notifications can provide notification and detection of threats. The ability to collect mobile application usage information and behavioral data can help companies develop an understanding of what their customers are doing on their devices. Companies should develop a digital transformation strategy and integrate their security capabilities into the business capabilities to provide a comprehensive defense against security threats and internal threats as well.
Cybersecurity: One of the trends noted at the conference was the increased engagement of the executive team in cyber vulnerabilities and the associated response. Much of this was brought about by the attention of Edward Snowden and others on the subject. Encryption standards such as SSL and VPN are also part of the solution as well. There is still a work in progress on creating standards for digital transformation and operational analytics capabilities. The security and privacy issues are real concerns for both sides of the aisle, which is why security is a huge part of this strategy.
Analytics: Although it is not typically thought of as part of a digital transformation strategy, there is a big impact on the business capabilities of the organization. There needs to be an integration of this technology with business capabilities such as CRM, supply chain, manufacturing, financials, human resources, and operations. This will allow data to be analyzed quickly and efficiently. Analytics will be critical in understanding how to respond to any change in customer behavior and how to improve the performance and the profitability of the company.
Digital customer experience and digital transformation initiatives go together. It is imperative that a company continues to develop new digital capabilities that enhance customer value. One way of improving customer experience is through the creation of digital dashboards. They allow the employee to easily see the status of each department at a glance and also allow access to any information necessary to perform tasks. Digital dashboards can also be used as feedback mechanisms to ask questions when certain departments or functions are not meeting customer expectations.
The third part of a digital transformation strategy is seamless integration. Digital dashboards, secure VPN, and secure connection to the corporate network are just a few examples of how this can happen. Any improvement in business capabilities can directly affect the customer experience. Any change that enhances the customer experience will be met with appreciation, loyalty, and increased profit.
These are only a few of the capabilities that are part of the digital transformation strategy. If you think your company could use these capabilities, invest in your future by investing in your people. Invest in their education. Train them in new skills. Share knowledge and keep them up to date about the state of your business capabilities – and how to improve them!
Deepak Wadhwani has over 20 years experience in software/wireless technologies. He has worked with Fortune 500 companies including Intuit, ESRI, Qualcomm, Sprint, Verizon, Vodafone, Nortel, Microsoft and Oracle in over 60 countries. Deepak has worked on Internet marketing projects in San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange Country, Denver, Nashville, Kansas City, New York, San Francisco and Huntsville. Deepak has been a founder of technology Startups for one of the first Cityguides, yellow pages online and web based enterprise solutions. He is an internet marketing and technology expert & co-founder for a San Diego Internet marketing company.